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OUR FAMILY ALMOST HAD A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY
08-16-2011
It is so hard to even say the words "near death experience". I cringe even thinking about what the results could have been. It still seems so impossible. Things like that could never happen to our special Payne family. I don't even want to enumerate the painful consequences of loss, heartache, grief, anger, disbelief, and despair we would have faced if things were different.
Our youngest son, Brantley, called it "What Kind of Idiot Dies in Paradise?" That was the name of his recent blog on facebook. He told the near fatal account of being caught in a riptide on the beautiful island of Kauai.
Our 14 member family was on a wonderful vacation having lots of fun together. Brantley went out for a quick swim without knowing the riptide was just offshore. That was the problem, an undertoe that kept him from swimming free.
He told about all that flashed through his mind, his attempt to powerswim out of the current, the whitecaps slapping him in the face, the salt water in his mouth stealing his breath away, and then finally the panic in the pit of his stomach.
He said he pictured his family, his beautiful wife, his precious three year old son, and baby daughter. Then he saw the safety buoy hanging on a post a few yards on shore and wished he could reach it, but of course that was not possible. He thought of the rest of his family members in the beach house, and in the hot tub only 100 yards away and wished he was there too.
He also saw a couple on a blanket just getting ready to leave. They were his last chance and they were his only chance so he whistled to the man. It was a whistle that I had taught him when he was just a boy. He learned it well and desperately needed to use it in his crisis. He used up his last precious breath to whistle as loud as he could for help.
To summarize the story, the man heard his whistle and came swimming out to rescue him. This man was a spear fisherman and had been at this spot many times before. He knew the waters were bad and the current was strong. Out of experience he yelled, "stop fighting the current, stop fighting it". So our son took a deep breath, rested on his back and began to sing an old church hymn.
As if a miracle happened he immediately drifted to a coral reef and stood up safely away from the treacherous currents. One minute he was about to drown, and moments later he landed safely on a shallow reef.
There is so much more to the story, but tragedy was quickly averted and Brantley walked away from there without a scratch. We can only say in utter amazement "Thank you dear Lord for sparing our son!"
Everybody has a wake up call or a reality check that God uses to shock us and get our attention to come home, change directions, stop the madness or the rebellion, or whatever needs correcting.
Our entire family, all of us, learned two things from our son's ultimate experience. "Whistle for help" and "Stop fighting". That means call on God our helper in time of need and stop fighting life's problems. It means surrendering to God 100% and He will deliver you from the treacherous currents of life.
Perhaps you are reading this and God is trying to capture your attention. If God is giving you a wake up call, then by all means wake up. Don't delay or deny or deceive yourself to think it is unnecessary. Some people who do not heed the wake up call suffer tragic consequences.
In the words of our son Brantley, "What kind of idiot dies in Paradise?" And God doesn't want you to die either. Whistle for help and stop fighting. Let God be your lifeguard. You can do what Brantley did and safely return home.
~ Pastor Ron
JURY DUTY
08-03-2011
It is the privlege I love to hate. First of all I never get selected. Pastors are routinely rejected. They are the "persona nongrata" in the jury box. I guess they are too rigid in beliefs, too black and white in morals, or too different from the norm to be wanted by either side of the attorneys.
I received the typical summons and date with instructions to call after 5 p.m. the night before I was to appear.
This kind of appointment is always hard because the next day is such a wipe-out. I can't make definite appointments or plan to accomplish anything significant in the office because, well, I might not be there.
So I was not needed on the first, second or third day. I was asked to call after 11 a.m. for more instructions.
So I am learning all over again. Life is uncertain. I am not really in control. I cannot predict the outcome of any days events. So I guess I could say my "duty" as a juror is just to be on call, be ready, and be available at any time.
Hmm......sounds like a spiritual lesson emerging in my life. Am I ready when God calls me? Am I ready when God gives me an appointment? Am I ready to serve Him, obey Him, and go when He says go.
So now I called after 11 a.m. In fact I made many calls and couldn't get through until 12:04 p.m. Guess what the voice mail man said. "Show up at 12:30 p.m." Wow, that's less than a half hour!
Can they really do that to a person?
After calling a real office person, she graciously gave me a new solid appointment. It was a definite time to come. No calling, no voice mails, no waiting, no wondering what next. Now at least I know what is expected.
Ok, God--- I am available for Your plans. They are much more exciting and fulfilling and I will be called for a definite reason not to sit and wait and finally be rejected by the jury people who always do that to pastors. I can count on You. Thank God!
~ Pastor Ron
LIMITS AND MARGIN
07-05-2011
Our Leadership Team just saw a great vidio series about limits by Andy Stanley. Here are a few things I learned.
1) Everone has limits, if you don't set them someone else will and you won't like the results.
2) Our limits should reflect space for us to have some margin. Margin gives us room to do other things like relax and receive the unexpected and have a quiet conversation with family and others withour being pushed. Also margin gives us time to see what God is doing in our lives.
3) Stress is one of the big results of not having any margin in our lives. I get stressed out emotionally, physically, spiritually and especially with emphasis....FINANCIALLY!!!!! when margin is gone.
4) Relationships suffer because we have precious little time for them. No margin-- no time left for important people in our lives.
5) Finally when I have no margin left then God also gets squeezed out. We all know what that feels like. God is the one who holds it all together and I sure need Him before everything crashes big time.
Now I am working on setting limits and making margin in my life happen.
~ Pastor Ron
TEMPORARY CHANGE
05-31-2011
And now for a commercial announcement....... We are getting the word out in as many ways as possible.
Sunday Worship will temporarally change to a new location for a few weeks this summer while the Middle School is being remodeled.
Starting Sunday June 5th 10 A.M. we will meet at Nichols Elementary School at 1301 S. Crescent Ave.
This is very near the Carl's Jr. on Kettleman St. In fact Crescent runs into Kettleman at Carl's Jr.
Most Sunday's we will meet at this school for June and July. But there are two exceptions. June 12th and July 3rd will be Outdoor Worship and BBQ events.
June 12th our time changes to 5P.M. at Peterson Park for an outreach to park attenders. This will be Music and BBQ with Testimonies and gospel presentation. NO 10 A.M. SERVICE only one 5 P.M. outdoor ministry. We hope this change will be a great way to connect with our community. We encourage our own folks to come and bring potluck dishes to enhance the BBQ meal for everyone.
July 3rd is Independance Day weekend. That Sunday will be our annual outdoor event at 2411 Diablo Dr. We will also do a BBQ and Worship Celebration at 10 A.M.
All other Sunday's the church will meet at Nichols Elementary on Crescent Ave. Plan to join us for our summer ministry. ........ and now back to our regular programing.
~ Pastor Ron
SAD DAY YOU----- KNOW WHAT I MEAN !
05-25-2011
What a sad day for Christians. The May 21st fiasco was so very sad for believers. No one knows the mind of Christ or the day of rapture or day of judgment.
The atheists, comedians, skeptics, journalists and all doubters in general had a big day making fun of very serious coming events on God's calendar.
Yes, Mr. Camping was so very wrong! Yes, he brought ridicule to the name of Christ!
Yes, we need to pray for him!
One good thing! Mr. Camping did believers a favor by reminding us that the rapture is real and will really come some day in God's own secret time.
We can get excited about God's coming promise. We can live each day as though He will soon return. We do have a fantastic future and it is on the horizon.
We will meet again, here, there, or in the air!
~ Pastor Ron